Google ecommerce drone deliveries to rock in a few years

The chief of Google Inc.’s drone cargo project has claimed that in-house built delivery drones in urban areas may be possible within a few years if the US government and the Federal Aviation Industry (FAA) agree to work cooperatively on the new technology

The swift adoption of a registration system for small unmanned aircraft, begun on 21 December 2015, to capture holiday gift buying, is a template for how different sectors of the aviation world can work together to speed approvals for deliveries, Dave Vos, head of Google X’s Project Wing, said, internetretailer.com reports, citing Bloomberg.

“We’re making huge progress,” Vos said, speaking to the Aero Club of Washington, a group made up of mostly traditional aviation-industry members. Deliveries of small packages by drone are just part of what Vos sees as a coming revolution in the aviation industry as a result of growing computer power and cheaper sensors allowing automation that will increasingly assist the humans guiding aircraft.

Alphabet Inc., the holding company that owns Google, is in a race with Amazon.com Inc. to develop drones for product delivery. Amazon, in November 2015, began showing off a new drone prototype on Amazon.com/primeair and a YouTube video reveals how the service might work if regulators clear Amazon’s drones for takeoff. Walmart Stores Inc., a global retailer, announced in October, 2015, that it was also developing similar drones.

The FAA expects to finalise rules for commercial drone operations later in 2016 but those regulations will only allow the simplest operations within sight of the operator. The agency hasn’t begun the formal process of drafting rules for how automated deliveries would work. The FAA and NASA are also working on developing a low-level air-traffic system to guide drones and prevent mid-air collisions. Google, Amazon and others are also making their own air-traffic systems.